Despite being months removed from the WPSL season, many TSC Maryland Pride players are still enjoying success on the pitch.

The NCAA Women’s Soccer Tournament, set to kick off this weekend, will feature a handful of Pride players from colleges all over the country.

Heather Cooke, Pride defender and senior at Loyola University will be trying to make it a memorable end to a decorated college career when the Greyhounds take on West Virginia in the first round of the NCAA tournament.

Cooke was named to the All-Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference first team, the All-MAAC Tournament Team and the All-MAAC Athletic team, while leading Loyola to the MAAC regular season and tournament championships.

Pride forward and University of Dayton junior Jerica DeWolfe vaulted her team to the Atlantic 10 title with a game-winning goal in the 87th minute in the tournament final.

The late-game heroics by DeWolfe earned her the A-10 player of the week and CollegeSoccer360 Primetime Performer for the week of Nov. 2.

DeWolfe, a product of St. John’s College High School in Washington DC, scored two goals in eight games for the Pride this past season.

Pride players Sara Tankard and Erin MacPherson will also be appearing in the NCAA tournament this weekend.

Tankard, a forward at Johns Hopkins University is celebrating the Blue Jays’ fifth straight Centennial Conference championship earning them a berth in the NCAA’s.

MacPherson is a defender at West Virginia Wesleyan, which recently won the West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference to secure its third straight appearance in the NCAA tournament.

TSC players are seeing success in the junior college ranks as well. Pride midfielder/defender Becca Bazemore captained Harford Community College to a regional and district championship.

Bazemore and the Fighting Owls will be vying for the National Junior College Athletic Association National Championship this weekend in Texas.

Not only have Pride players been making headlines on the pitch, but their effects have also been felt on the sidelines.

Washington DC’s Gallaudet University women’s soccer program had not won a game for three years heading into 2009. However, with TSC Pride captain and defender Sarah Gumina taking over as head coach midway through the 2008 season, things would go drastically different for the Bison this year.

Gallaudet, the nation’s only four-year college for deaf students, won its first game on September 13, beating Patrick Henry 2-0.

That was just the start for Gallaudet, as Gumina ultimately led the Bison to a 6-12-1 record, and a home record of 6-5-1.

The TSC Maryland Pride would like to congratulate all its collegiate players and their families on a remarkable 2009 season.